Girls Aloud's Style Evolution
They're back! And, to celebrate, we delve into the girls' style archives...
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comFresh from Popstars: The Rivals, Kimberley, Nadine, Nicola, Sarah and Cheryl burst onto the UK music scene in 2003 and their star has been on the rise ever since. Thankfully, the same can be said for their fashion sense; in those days, a penchant for matching colours and style-free mini dresses prevailed.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comTimberland boots were the footwear du jour back 2003. Fast forward nine years, and Rihanna's putting the look straight back onto our fashdar. Talk about being ahead of the curve!
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comMore cargo pants – this time with midriff-baring tees – for a performance at a Capital FM gig in 2003. These ladies still had a lot to learn...
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comThe matchy-matchy blue and white ensembles the girls wore to the Disney Channel awards in 2003 were not exactly fashion-forward, but it's their ill-advised hair extensions that we can't stop looking at. Check out Cheryl’s – who’d have thought she’d become the nation’s No.1 style icon a few years down the line?
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comThis laidback look for an appearance on MTV was a definite improvement - but put those midriffs away please, ladies! (OK, yes, we are jealous.)
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comLooking more Las Vegas than London, the band mates showed up to the premiere of Love, Actually in co-ordinated evening gowns, complete with diamanté-encrusted heels and showy earrings.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comDabbling with rock chic - and ending up closer to the opposite - the ladies showed up to the premiere of Freaky Friday in a studded belts, ripped Kiss t-shirts and zip-detail satin trousers.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comThe girls took on GLAMOUR's very first Women Of The Year Awards in 2004 (where they picked up the Band Of The Year award, no less), in flesh-flashing LBDs.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comWe see what the girls were going for with these rainbow-coloured ensembles... Alas, it just fell a little flat for us.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comEveryone knows that white is a difficult colour to wear - but plunge-neck, slashed-to-the-waist, body-baring white? Girls, we applaud your chutzpah.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comIn off-duty garb at a record signing in 2005, the girls were starting to raise the style stakes – and Nicola’s newly brunette ‘do was winning thumbs up all round at the GLAMOUR.com offices. More of the same, please!
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comBefore Cheryl cultivated a to-die-for wardrobe packed with Matthew Williamson, Alexander McQueen and Louis Vuitton, she dabbled in boho. You like?
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comTwo years after they began their ascent into pop history, Girls Aloud still hadn't found their fashion groove. They wore these fancy dress-worthy school ties to a London gig in 2005.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comPink ruffles, reams of net and voluminous prom skirts; have we stepped back into the 80s? The Girls’ stylist ran amok with the lace and tulle at the 2005 Poll Winners party for this retro look.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comExperimenting with a ‘sexy secretary’ vibe, Girls Aloud promoted their new range of Barbie dolls in black pencil skirts and clingy tops.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comKhaki, denim and a, courtesy of Kimberley, spot of glitz as the girls brought out their philanthropic side at a Girlguiding UK event. Bravo.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comAha! Celebrating the release of their third album Chemistry, in 2005, Britain’s favourite girl band cranked it up another notch in the style stakes. Love!
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comAt the premiere of Ant & Dec’s film Alien Autopsy, Kimberley and Cheryl slipped briefly into the GLAMOUR.com’s bad books by forgetting that a good accessory doth an outfit make. Cute clutches would have worked better, ladies. But we'll let you off just this once.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comFledgling fashionista Nicola Roberts tried her hand at tailoring, while Kimberley stuck to a tried-and-tested statement dress as the band picked up a Silver Clef award in 2006.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comNow that’s more like it. The Girls showed off a glossy new look at the 2007 GLAMOUR Women of the Year awards, with Kimberley in a floor length, coffee-coloured gown and Nicola rocking a directional, feather-trimmed waistcoat.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comThey still had the matchy-matchy thing going on, but the girls showed off a glossier, sleeker incarnation of their former selves in these cute violet and indigo mini dresses for a Samsung launch late in 2007.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comIt was back to black for Kimberley, Nadine, Nicola, Sarah and Cheryl in 2007, as they donned classic LBDs for a music download launch. Sarah wins Best Dressed here for her fashion-forward, criss-crossed dress, although we’re staying on the fence about her short-lived bob.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comIs that a new stylist we spot on the horizon? Cheryl took her first steps into the fashion fold in this gorgeous full-length cooper gown and Grecian-inspired headband at 2007’s Red Cross Ball.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comIt was sequins and studs all round as the girls headed to the premiere of St. Trinian’s in some subtly sexy partywear, but we reckon Nadine lets the side down with her WAG-ish curls.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comScooping Best British Group at the Brits in 2008 meant that the girls had to pull out all the stops for their red carpet appearance. Cue a smattering of designer dresses (Ashley Isham for Sarah and Kimberley, Alice + Olivia and David Szeto respectively for Cheryl and Nicola), gorgeous heels on everyone and some cute and quirky clutch bags. Quite the award-winning look!
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comShowing up en masse for another awards ceremony, Sarah, Kimberley and Nicola took colourblocking by the horns in these bright and bold dresses. Sarah’s cool crop and slick of bright orange lippy make her the clear winner here.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comAs Cheryl took on the X Factor role (and began attracting the attention of the British fashion press), the girls released their very own book. The cargo pants are (mercifully) long forgotten, and in their place are thigh-skimming mini skirts and killer platform heels. Hooray!
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comFinally letting their individuality shine through in their wardrobe choices, the girls rocked a whole host of on-trend looks at the 2008 Music Industry Trust Awards. Top marks go to Cheryl in a structured grey PPQ number (complete with drool-inducing red vintage Chanel belt), and Kimberley, who looked better than ever in this draped Vivienne Westwood dress.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comWhile Nicola went for a baby-doll look with Chanel-esque pearls and black bow details, Kimberley did us proud again in this ruffle detail dress, deftly cinched with a gold clasp belt.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comCheryl’s zebra print heels, monochrome mini dress and well-styled bandmate are a match made in fashion heaven – no wonder she bagged a spot as a Vogue cover girl just a month later, in February 2009.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comWe had to admire Nicola and Sarah's daring red carpet choices at the 2009 NME Awards – Nicola in a laced-up black dress with peep-toe ankle boots and Sarah in a striped, slashed neck full-length dress.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comFirmly cementing their place as one of pop’s best dressed bands, the girls wowed fans and got paparazzi bulbs furiously flashing when they showed up to the 2009 Brit Awards. Nadine went for William Tempest, Kimberley for Roberto Cavalli, Sarah, Vivienne Westwood and Nicola and Cheryl were in J.Mendel and Georges Chakra respectively. What a difference a few years – and an armful of designer gowns – makes.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comFirst Cheryl fronts Vogue, then Nicola and Sarah sit front row at Vivienne Westwood’s Red Label show during London Fashion Week. The two showed the fash pack they’d arrived in draped red sequins and a metallic puffball mini.
PA Photos/www.paphotos.comGroomed to perfection and flawlessly styled... Whatever happened to those camouflage-wearing, diamanté-toting girls of yore?
PA Photos...Fast forward three years, and the fab five are back! The year-long hiatus they announced in 2009 turned out to be three times that long, but all is forgiven as Cheryl, Nicola, Nadine, Kimberley and Sarah come together in London to announce plans to celebrate Girls Aloud’s ten-year anniversary a new single, a new album and a 2013 tour.
We cannot wait to see what this new chapter in their style will bring!
